


Got My Angel Now

by striking_stroll18



Series: Busy Bean Coffee Shop AU [2]
Category: Formula E RPF
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Don't worry guys the boys are as innocent as ever, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Domestic Violence, They're both adorable and need to be protected at all costs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22633195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/striking_stroll18/pseuds/striking_stroll18
Summary: Alex starts working at the Busy Bean and meets Mitch, another barista around his age. He seems to be in trouble and after a nasty incident it's Alex who's there for him.
Relationships: André Lotterer & Jean-Eric Vergne, Mitch Evans/Alex Lynn
Series: Busy Bean Coffee Shop AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1479650
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is set before 'Of all the lies we told "I love you" was my favourite', second chapter will take place at the end of it/after it.  
> Massive thank you to E, R and J who helped me immensely by reading through my story and correcting mistakes I made and also gave me very helpful feedback!  
> Enjoy reading,  
> C

Alex has always hated first days. First days of school, first days of university, first days of a new job. So when Alex got ready for his first day of work at Busy Bean Coffee Shop he was quite nervous. The part time job he had back in his old university's town had nothing to do with people, so working in a coffee shop was a big change. He also had no experience, so Alex was hoping his colleagues were nice enough to help him. Sighing he grabbed his jacket and bag before exiting his flat. On the way to work the worries and insecurities that had plagued him when he applied for the job kicked in again. He usually wasn't good with people and didn't know anything about coffee. How he survived the interview was still a mystery to Alex.  
A little while later, he arrived at the coffee shop only to find it still closed. He wasn't the first to arrive though, another man was already waiting in front of the closed doors.  
"Hey, you have to be the new guy. I'm Andre."  
"Hi, I'm Alex."  
They shook hands before falling back into an awkward silence. After what seemed like an eternity they were saved from it by the arrival of the shop owner, James.  
"Alex, good to see you're on time. The guy who worked here before never was. One of the reasons why he had to leave..."  
James only said the first sentence clearly, the rest mumbling to himself as if he was thinking aloud. He unlocked the backdoor and Andre, James and Alex went inside to discard their stuff so they could start preparing the shop for its business.

***

Alex found himself getting used to the work in the cafe pretty quickly and luckily for him everyone there accepted that he didn't want to take the cashier shifts and preferred to stay in the back preparing and cleaning things. Alex had also met more people working at the coffee shop, for example Jev, Andre's best friend (even though they could easily be misinterpreted as boyfriends and maybe they were just too shy to come out of the closet and tell everyone that they were dating), and also Mitch, a guy around his age. During one particular boring shift the two of them had together Mitch suddenly spoke up.  
"So, Alex. You've been working here for a while now and yet I know almost nothing about you personally. What are you hiding?"  
Alex laughed and shook his head.  
"I don't hide anything, it's just that there's nothing interesting to tell about me. But what about you, what's your dark secret?"  
Mitch let out a nervous chuckle.  
"I don't have one. And there must be something interesting to tell about you."  
It was obvious that the first part was a lie, but Alex guessed that pressing for an answer wouldn't be a smart move. After all, they didn't know each other and Mitch had every right not to tell him. So Alex decided to only answer to the second thing Mitch said and shrugged his shoulders in response. In his opinion, he was the most boring guy to walk the earth.  
"Come on, just tell me anything. Why did you want to work here at the coffee shop for example?"  
"I needed a part time job so I could pay my bills until I'm done with studying" Alex admitted but Mitch simply started grinning like mad at his answer.  
"See, I knew there are things worthy of knowing about you! So what is it that you're studying? And how come you only needed a job now? Don't get me wrong, you just don't seem to be the usual age of a first semester student."  
A soft smile played around Alex's lips at the enthusiasm Mitch displayed.  
"It's true that I'm not in first semester. In fact I'm almost done with my studies but the university I used to visit didn't have the differentiation I wanted to do. So I moved to this city and transferred. I'm studying computational linguistics by the way."  
"Damn, this sounds really cool. I'm at the same university so maybe we'll see each other there. Do you mind if I leave you alone at the counter for a few seconds? I have to send an important text to someone and my phone is in the backroom. I'm sure you'll be fine, there are no customers here anyway."  
Alex hesitated. Mitch really gave off the impression that the text was important but at the same time Alex wasn't sure if he could handle a customer on his own.  
"Yeah, ok. Take the time you need."  
Relief flooded Mitch's features.  
"Thank you, Alex, thank you" he rambled while already disappearing to the backroom. Alex watched him leave and hoped the other man would be back soon. He took Mitch's place behind the register and had just finished thinking about possible lines in case a customer showed up when a man entered the coffee shop and went straight to the counter. Alex was just about to greet him and ask what he could get him when the man's hand suddenly bolted forward and wrapped around his collar. An angry expression was on the stranger's face and he jerk Alex forward by his collar.  
"Where is he?"  
"Sir, I don't know who or what you're talking about. If you could please let me go..."  
Alex tried to stay as calm as possible which was rather difficult given the circumstances.  
"I'm talking about my boyfriend Mitch, you idiot!"  
If possible the other man grabbed his shirt even harder and Alex was close to getting actually scared of what would happen next. But when he was asked about his co-worker he remembered Mitch's reaction when Alex jokingly asked him about his 'dark secret'. Even though it would be better for him to tell the stranger that Mitch was in the backroom Alex decided not to.  
"I don't know who you're talking about, I don't know anyone called like that. If you could leave now please."  
Without a word but with an extra angry glare the stranger let Alex go and disappeared as fast as he showed up less than two minutes before. For a while the young man stood rooted to his spot, lost in thought. What the hell just happened?  
When Mitch came back into the main room a little while later it was immediately clear to Alex that the other man had been crying. He decided not to comment on it and not to tell Mitch that somebody had asked for him either. Although, that probably wasn't the right expression for it.  
"Hey, I'm back Alex. Did everything go alright?"  
In Mitch's voice it was evident that he had been crying, too. But still Alex didn't say anything about it.  
"Yeah, everything was fine. Nobody showed up here anyway."  
Mitch hummed in reply and Alex shot him an encouraging smile. He didn't know what the other one was going through but he would help the smaller man as much as it was possible for the Brit. The two men settled into an uneasy silence but neither of them knew what to talk about, both too engaged in their thoughts about each other.

***

It was a few weeks later that Alex had another morning shift together with Mitch. The Brit arrived later than he had intended to and yet there was no sign of his co-worker. Alex tried the door but it still was locked and Mitch had the key for it. He waited in front of the door for a few more minutes but Mitch didn't show up so Alex decided to call him. It rang a few times but Mitch didn't pick up his phone. When he still hadn't shown up ten minutes later Alex didn't know what to do apart from calling James. He explained the situation and his boss promised Alex that he would find a quick solution for this situation.  
Alex was worried about Mitch, not only did he fear what would happen to Mitch concerning his job but he was also worried about why the other man hadn't shown up in the first place. Mitch seemed to be in some sort of trouble the other day and in every other shift they shared Mitch appeared increasingly more tired and paler.  
James kept his promise to find a solution because only five minutes later Andre and Jev turned up and Andre unlocked the door. Hurriedly all three men prepared the shop but none of them was really concentrated, they all were too worried about Mitch. Alex found himself constantly checking his phone to see if the other man had sent him a text, but to no avail.

A few hours later, when Alex's shift was almost over he had given up all hope that Mitch would call or text him and he felt his heart breaking at the thought that something really bad must have happened to the smaller man. Alex sighed in defeat and tried not to think about Mitch too much so he could focus on the important lecture at university he would have in a few hours but failed miserably. His worry didn't go unnoticed by Jev and Andre and the former walked up to him when Alex disappeared into the backroom to get his things and leave for uni.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?"  
"Obviously. I mean I don't know Mitch that well but he simply doesn't seem like the kind of guy to just not show up to work. It also seemed as if he was in trouble..."  
"What do you mean, he's in trouble?"  
Jev sounded honestly surprised but also concerned and it dawned on Alex that the others hadn't noticed the changes in Mitch's looks and behaviour. And then there was this creepy guy just a few weeks ago...  
"Well, a while back a man came into the coffee shop while Mitch and I were working and instead of ordering anything he just walked up to me, grabbed me by my collar and asked where Mitch was. He was in the back room at that moment. I said I didn't know any Mitch and he left furiously. When Mitch came back I saw that he had been crying, too, so I didn't say anything about it."  
"Holy... Why didn't you say anything?"  
"I don't know, I guess I didn't know what and I didn't want to get involved in Mitch's business either. Looking back at it that probably was a mistake..."  
Jev stayed silent for a moment, thinking about what they could do now.  
"Alright, Alex, I have an idea. You're in?"  
"You haven't even said what it is so how should I know?"  
"Yeah, right, sorry. I think you and Andre should drive over to Mitch's flat and check up on him. Because I think you're right, Mitch is in trouble. I'll stay here and run the café in the meantime."  
"Sounds like a plan, but are you sure Andre will agree?"  
Alex felt his heart pounding harder at the thought of seeing Mitch and a lot of images crossed his mind of all the possible states Mitch could be in.  
"Of course I agree. I'm worried about Mitch too and besides, your shift is almost over anyway. Are you ready to leave?"  
Andre had joined them in the back room now and had heard Jev’s proposal.  
"You mean like, now?"  
"Of course, what did you think?"  
"It's just that I have an important lecture today that I shouldn't miss..."  
Andre and Jev shot him their best "are you serious?"- looks. But while Alex said that he had already decided that he didn't care about university because Mitch was more important to him. He would just ask someone else to send him their notes tonight.  
"You know what, I don't care about the lecture. Shall we leave then?"  
Andre just nodded in reply and turned around. Alex was about to follow him when Jev held him up.  
"Please let me know if you know anything new, alright?"  
"Of course. One of us will text you."

Alex then left the room and met Andre outside the door. Together they walked to his car that was parked a few streets down. Neither of them said anything, it didn't seem appropriate to talk about the weather or anything like it but also neither man wanted to talk about what they feared they would face when arriving at Mitch's place. They got into the car still in silence and Andre started driving. The quietness remained until he stopped the car in front of an apartment building.  
"Alex, I don't know what we'll find inside, so I need to know if you still want to do this."  
"Of course I want to do it! I might not know Mitch for as long as you and Jev do but he matters to me."  
"Alright, I just wanted to make sure that you won't chicken out at the last moment."  
Andre and Alex left the car and headed towards the building where they entered the lift and the former pressed the button for the fifth floor and they started moving.  
"You've been here before?"  
Andre nodded in reply but didn't specify when and why. When they arrived at the right floor the two men left the lift and Andre immediately turned towards a door on the left. He carefully knocked but when there came no reply he started knocking harder and then even rang the bell.  
"Mitch? Are you inside? It's just Alex and me. Come on, Mitch, open the door. Mitch?"  
Andre tried again but the only answer they got was silence. Andre cursed but then started digging in his jeans pockets for his bunch of keys.  
"Before you ask, I'm looking for the key. Mitch gave it to me 'just in case' when Jev and I helped him move in. I never knew what he was talking about but I guess it's an appropriate situation to use it now."  
A few moments later Andre triumphantly held a key up into the air. He tried to unlock the door and luckily it was the right key at the first shot. Alex slowly opened the door and carefully looked inside. Nothing extraordinary was to be seen and Alex opened the door wider so Andre and he could step inside.  
"Mitch, are you here? It's just Andre and me, nobody else is around."  
Alex calmly called out while walking around in the flat and looking for any signs where Mitch could be. Suddenly he heard something sounding a bit like a whimper and the Brit turned towards Andre with a raised eyebrow to ask if he heard it as well. The other man nodded in return and pointed towards a small hallway with two doors leading away from what Alex suspected to be the living room. He walked closer and started calling again.  
"Mitch, it's okay, we know you're here. We just came to check up on you, we're worried about you."  
Alex stopped in front of one of the doors when he heard that the whimpers where coming from the room behind it.  
"Come on, Mitch, open the door. We won't do any harm to you. It's just Andre and me. Please open the door, we just want to help."  
Alex tried again to get Mitch to let them in and this time he could hear something or someone move over the floor before the key was turned inside the lock.  
"Alright, Mitch. We'll come inside now, okay?"  
Now it was Andre speaking and when there was no protest Alex slowly opened the door. At first he didn't see Mitch but when he entered the room he identified as a bathroom Alex saw Mitch sitting on the floor behind the door. The state Mitch was in almost made Alex feel sick.  
The Kiwi had a black eye as well as a bruised lip and if his posture was anything to go by he probably had to endure more than one punch in his gut and ribs too. He was almost as pale as the white tiles on the floor if it hadn't been for his tan.  
"Oh my god, Mitch! What happened to you?"  
At that tears filled up Mitch's eyes and he turned away from Alex.  
"I'll get something to take care of his wounds, you try to calm him down, alright?"  
Andre quietly mumbled to Alex before leaving the room. The Brit knelt down a few feet away from Mitch and just looked at him for a while.  
"You don't need to be scared of me. You can trust me. Would you mind if I take a look at your bruises?"  
Mitch didn't reply verbally but did turn towards Alex again. He carefully scooted closer towards the smaller man and placed a hand on the other one's chin so he could tilt his head more into the light to have a better view on the Kiwi's bruised lips and eye. Now that he was closer the injuries look even worse and Alex felt anger rise inside of him. Who dared to do this to Mitch? Apparently Alex's grip had tightened at that thought because Mitch started whimpering again and tried to get away from him. Alex immediately retracted his hand and shushed the man in front of him.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you. I promise I won't do it again. Do you think you can sit up so Andre can take care of your wounds when he's back?"  
"I'm not sure, it hurts like hell..."  
Mitch's voice wasn't more than a whisper and it was hard for Alex to understand him.  
"I'll help you, alright? We can do this as slow as you need."  
In reply Mitch nodded shortly before trying to straighten up his posture. Alex placed careful hands on Mitch's upper arms and supported the other man in the best way possible without hurting him again. Just when Mitch was sitting upright Andre came back into the bathroom carrying a first aid kit and a small bag of frozen peas. He gave the latter to Mitch before kneeling down on his left side.  
"For your eye. I couldn't find anything better, I'm sorry. Alex, can you hold his hand?"  
The addressed man nodded and took Mitch's left hand in his own, now making sure that he cooled his eye with the bag of peas in the other. Alex didn't understand the reason entirely before Andre started to look after Mitch's cracked lips and the latter tightened his grip around Alex's hand almost painfully. Andre tried to be as quick as possible but Mitch let out a relieved breath anyway when the older man was done.  
"I think we should get you to a doctor, Mitch. I can look after the superficial wounds but I think you might have bruised a rib or two from the way you're breathing and sitting here."  
Mitch violently shook his head.  
"No, I don't want to go to the hospital, I don't need to. I'll be fine, I always have been, I'm -"  
"What do you mean, you've always been fine? Has this happened to you before?!"  
Mitch weakly nodded before he started crying. Anger rose inside of Alex again, he couldn't believe someone could do this repeatedly to the kind-hearted Kiwi. He carefully wrapped his arms around the other man and held him close when Mitch began to shake with heavy sobs. Alex gently shushed him and kept his arms around Mitch's smaller body until the sobs turned into quiet sniffles. He then retreated a bit to look at the other one and cautiously wiped away the tears that still were on his cheeks.  
"If you don't want to go to a hospital, we'll accept your decision even though it probably would be better for you to see a doctor. But I think you shouldn't stay here, especially not on your own. If you're okay with it, you can live with me for a while, at least until you're better again."  
At Alex proposal Mitch turned hopeful eyes onto him.  
"You'd allow me to stay with you, really? Thank you so much, Ace."  
The Kiwi's arms wrapped around Alex after that and he tried to express the gratitude he couldn't say out loud with this hug.  
"Alright, now that this is settled we should leave, shouldn't we?"  
Andre interrupted the other men's hug.

"But what about my stuff?"  
Mitch asked muffled against Alex's shoulder.  
"I'm sure Alex can lend you some of his things, tonight Jev and I can come here again to get some of yours and we'll bring it to you."  
Mitch tilted his head in thought before nodding. Andre then left the room to get the elevator and Alex started to get up from the floor.  
"Alex? Can... Can you help me to stand up? I'm not sure if I can do it on my own..."  
Mitch's voice turned more and more sheepish the more he talked and Alex smiled softly at the other man while nodding. He offered a hand to him, carefully helped him stand up and then supported Mitch so he wouldn't fall over again.  
"Is it alright like this?"  
Alex was worried he would hurt Mitch again but the smaller man nodded instantly to ease his worries.  
"You set the pace for walking and if you should need a rest just tell me, okay?"  
"I will, don't worry Alex. I'm so glad you and Andre are here..."  
Both men took careful and small steps towards the front door after that, but when they reached the living room the two men had to stop and Mitch rested his body against Alex's. The Brit slung his arms around the other one and combed his hand through Mitch's hair in what he hoped was a comforting manner. They stood like this for a minute or two before the Kiwi straightened up again and the two men continued to walk towards the lift where Andre was waiting for them. They entered the elevator and Andre pressed the button for the ground floor. When they started moving Mitch almost fell down but Alex quickly caught him and drew the other man against his chest again without thinking further about it. Mitch didn't seem to mind and snuggled even closer before quietly mumbling "Thanks, Ace".

***

Half an hour later Alex quietly shut the door to his bedroom and let out a deep sigh once it was closed. Mitch had fallen asleep on the way to his flat and Alex had carried him from the car to his bedroom so the other man could sleep there for a while.  
"What do you think happened to him?"  
Andre quietly asked the Brit when the other one reached the sofa in the living room.  
"If I'm honest I'm not sure if I really want to know. I can't believe somebody would do something like this."  
"Me neither. I hope he'll be fine soon. And if you need anything just give me or Jev a call, alright?"  
"I will, thank you Andre. Now that you mentioned Jev I totally forgot to text him what happened. He must be worried sick by now."  
"He's not, I texted him. I saw how much you were worried about Mitch and figured you would be busy looking after him. Not blaming you, I can understand it. Anyway, I need to go. I'll tell James that there's a reason for Mitch not showing up to work but Mitch should explain it himself when he's ready for it."  
Alex nodded in agreement, it wasn't on them to tell people about the situation.

A little while later Alex was sitting on the sofa again and reading some things for uni when Mitch suddenly began to scream for help. Alex immediately rushed over to Mitch and knelt down next to the bed. Mitch was still sleeping, but he was screaming and whimpering. Alex shook the smaller man's shoulders so he would wake up. When he finally shot upright Mitch started crying so Alex rose up from the floor, sat down on the edge of the bed and hugged him. He combed his fingers through the smaller one's hair again and tried to calm him down.  
"It's alright, honey, I've got you. Nobody will hurt you, you're safe here."  
Alex soothingly said this over and over. Soon Mitch's tears had died down and he lifted his head up from Alex's shoulder.  
"I'm sorry I ruined your shirt."  
"It's okay, it'll dry again."  
Mitch looked surprised at Alex before grinning and cuddling closer to him again. They stayed like this for what felt like an eternity but neither man minded it.

"Do you want to eat or drink something? Or is there anything else you need?"  
Alex broke the silence first. Mitch shrugged but then answered properly.  
"A shower or a bath would be nice."  
"Andre's not been here with your stuff yet. But I could give you some of my clothes."  
"I don't mind. Thank you, Alex."  
Alex tried to get up but Mitch didn't get the hint and still held onto him like a lifeline.  
"Mitch? You need to let go of me at some point, you know?"  
Said man blushed and slowly loosened his hold on Alex so that he could get up and go to his wardrobe. After a short while Alex threw a pair of sweatpants in the general direction of the bed which were soon followed by one of his shirts. Then he turned around to find out that his throwing skills had a lot of room for improvement. The sweatpants had landed next to the door which was rather far away from where they were supposed to be, and the shirt lay on the very edge of the bed.  
"Sorry, I was actually aiming for the bed."  
"You didn't hit the lamp or something that could break, so you should consider this a success."  
"You're always seeing the positive sides, aren't you?"  
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."  
Mitch looked like he wanted to add something but he didn't say anything more. A short moment of silence erupted before Alex remembered why he had stood up in the first place.  
"Come on, I'll show you where the bathroom is. Do you feel comfortable walking on your own?"  
"I should try at least, shouldn't I? But can you stay close, just in case?"  
The Kiwi carefully put his feet on the ground before standing up from the bed when Alex was by his side again. Mitch took a few shaky steps on his own but with Alex following close before the smaller man grabbed Alex's arm.  
"I can't do this, Alex, I just can't."  
His voice was full of despair and there were tears in his eyes. Alex placed his hands on Mitch's shoulders and looked him in the eyes.  
"Of course you can do it. It's only a few more steps to the door and after that I'll help you again, if you want me to, that is. I know you can make it. And I'm right beside you, Mitch. You can do this."  
Mitch took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and to find the courage to ask Alex something.  
"Can you hold my hand? I guess I just need a physical reassurance that you're here... And I know this sounds stupid but I don't know any other way to say it."  
"I didn't think it was stupid. And yes, I can and totally will hold your hand if you want me to. Come on, is just a few more steps."  
Alex placed his left hand in Mitch's right one and gave it a reassuring squeeze. With one last look to the other man Mitch focused his gaze on the door and started walking again. With every step he regained stability in and control of his legs and when Mitch had made it to the door he triumphantly turned around to Alex.  
"See, I told you, you could do it. Do you want to walk to the bathroom on your own now or should I help you?"  
"I'll walk on my own. So where is it?"  
Determination was to be seen in Mitch's eyes and Alex was kind of proud of the Kiwi for not giving up.  
The latter explained the way and together they made their way over to it. Once arrived Mitch sat down on the edge of the tub while Alex went back to his bedroom to get the clothes, grabbed a towel for Mitch when he got back and placed all the items on a shelf nearby. Then he faced Mitch again and asked him if he needed anything else to which the answer was no.  
"I'll wait outside, if you need anything just call me over. Shampoo and shower gel is next to you."  
Alex gave Mitch a gentle smile before leaving the bathroom. Then he went into his bedroom to his wardrobe again to get himself a new, and more importantly, dry shirt. He quickly changed before going back to sit next to the bathroom door in case anything happened. He had just sat down when the door opened and Mitch was standing in front of him.  
"Can you help me to take my shirt off?"  
Alex nodded and got up again. He felt kind of weird while carefully taking Mitch's shirt off but that weirdness evaporated and turned into both anger and a dull feeling of sickness when Alex saw the smaller man's upper body. It was covered in bruises of all possible colours, indicating the different stages of healing they were in. If Alex could take any assumptions based on his own experience the oldest bruises were older than one week, and keeping in mind what Mitch had said earlier, there used to be other, already invisible or healed bruises. Alex didn't comment on it though, instead he just swallowed thickly and took a step back.  
"That's it. I'll put your shirt into the laundry and then I'll wait here again. Take as long as you need."  
"Thank you, Alex. For everything you have done so far and everything you will do in the future."  
The Brit didn't have the time to reply because Mitch had already disappeared into the bathroom.

***

That night Mitch and Alex were lying on the Brit's couch and watched TV. Admittedly, Mitch was lying more on top of Alex than on the couch but Alex didn't mind and Mitch seemed like he needed it. When Mitch's eyes fell shut increasingly often Alex carefully lifted the smaller man up and let Mitch cling onto his back so he could carry him to the bedroom. Once there Alex gently put Mitch down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. Then he turned to leave but Mitch grabbed his hand and sleepily opened his eyes.  
"Please stay, Ace. Please don't leave me."  
He pleadingly looked at Alex who had abandoned his plans of sleeping on the sofa without hesitating.  
"Alright but let me get changed first."  
Mitch groggily nodded and let go of Alex's hand. The latter then quickly changed into more comfortable clothes before getting under the covers too. Mitch immediately snuggled up with him and soon fell asleep. Alex lay awake for a little while longer before following the Kiwi into the arms of Morpheus.

Alex was woken up by Mitch tossing and flailing after some time that felt like only minutes. He gently drew the younger man into his arms and shushed him and Alex hoped that calming him down would work without waking Mitch up. Alex tried it for a few minutes but before Mitch had calmed down he woke up with a scream. Then he began crying and Alex pulled the Kiwi closer. He pressed a soft kiss onto the top of Mitch's head when he started talking.  
"When I met him he was just a nice guy from work. We started dating soon after and everything was fine in the beginning. But then after some time he started to become... Different. After three months he hit me for the first time. I made up excuses, that he was drunk and that he didn't mean to do it. But after that he hit me again and again. I wanted to leave him, but I couldn't. I was telling myself it would be better soon and that he would be his old self again."  
Mitch took a deep breath before speaking up again.  
"Yesterday I finally found the courage to tell him that it was over. He began yelling at me why I would do this to him, how I could be so ungrateful. I told him I never wanted to see him again. After that I can't remember everything but what I do remember is that it hurt. He beat me up and I begged for him to stop. I must have lost consciousness at some point, the next thing I know is that I'm lying on the floor in my flat, alone. I hid myself in the bathroom in case he would show up again. Then you and Andre found me, and I've never been happier to see somebody, ever in my life."

Alex was left speechless after Mitch was done talking. He hadn't expected the other man to tell him this, and especially not this much. Mitch could have said that he had a fist fight with someone or even not say anything and Alex wouldn't have been miffed about it.  
"I won't say I know what you went through because I don't and I hate it when people say it even when it's not true. But I'm here for you if you want me to. And so are Andre and Jev."  
Alex whispered to Mitch after a while. The latter didn't reply verbally but he tried to hug Alex even closer and buried his head in the crook of the Brit's neck who rested his head on top of Mitch's hair. They sat like this for a while before Alex realized Mitch had fallen asleep in his arms. He gently lowered the Kiwi down in the bed and pulled the blankets over him before he himself lay down again. He turned onto his side to look at Mitch and without really thinking about it he draped an arm over Mitch's torso. He wasn't sure why he did that but it seemed like the right thing to do so Alex didn't question it further and before he knew it he fell asleep, too.

***

Alex found he enjoyed living with Mitch. It was super relaxed most of the times, an exception was when there was any kind of loud noise. Mitch always became restless when he was startled by one which meant Alex had to calm him down so the Kiwi wouldn't have a panic attack. When the Brit went to work or to university and Mitch was still asleep, he made sure to leave the shorter man a note telling him when he would be back. Together they had gotten Mitch a new phone number so he could contact his family and friends that he was okay and keep in touch with Alex whenever he wasn’t home. After three weeks, Mitch decided he wanted to start working in the coffee shop again and as there were no bruises visible on his face anymore James didn’t disapprove of it. After another two weeks Alex, Jev, Andre and Mitch went to the latter’s flat and got the rest of his stuff, keeping it in a rented garage until Mitch found a new apartment. It wasn’t that easy to find one though, as Mitch had only a limited budget and the apartment was supposed to be close to the café and one of his friend’s place in case his ex would find him again. After almost three months, Mitch was moving out of Alex’s apartment and the latter one dreaded the moment he would be alone again. Mitch wasn’t feeling any better than him, but he didn’t want to wear out his welcomes any more than he had already done. When the last box with Mitch’s stuff had been placed in his new apartment Alex and Mitch awkwardly stood in front of each other in the hallway.  
“So… Thank you, I guess? I honestly don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t taken me in and looked after me. I really owe you something, Alex.”  
“You don’t need to thank me. It was a given that I would help you. And I would do it all again if you needed me to. So, if you ever need help or just want to hang out, call me up. See you at work tomorrow, right?”  
“Yeah, see you then. Bye, Ace.”

***

Sighing Mitch stood behind the counter of the coffee shop at an in his opinion way too early time of the morning. A few weeks ago, Alex had quit his job in the café and moved into a completely new city. Then the Brit suddenly stopped replying to Mitch’s texts when he asked if he could visit him at his new place. Ever since Mitch moved out of Alex’ flat four months before the Kiwi missed his friend and there was a part of him that felt queasy at the thought of Alex suddenly disappearing. It seemed so unlike the Brit to do such a thing, Mitch had always known him as a kind person who would always make sure nobody was worried about him. But that was exactly what Mitch was, he was worried about Alex. The Kiwi sighed again before the door to the café opened and a young man around his age came inside. He was pretty good-looking Mitch thought to himself and gave the other man a friendly smile when he reached the counter.  
“Hey, welcome to Busy Bean Coffee Shop. What can I get you?” Mitch asked his standard question.  
“One medium caramel latte and one bagel to go, please.”  
“Alright, if you want you can take a seat while I prepare your order.”  
Mitch worked as quickly as possible so pretty guy – the Kiwi should probably ask him for his name sometime soon so he wouldn’t have to refer to him as ‘pretty guy’ anymore – didn’t have to wait too long. Soon Mitch had finished the order and brought it over to the stranger who had sat down at the table close to the counter.  
“One medium caramel latte and one bagel for you, enjoy.”  
Pretty guy thanked him and then left the coffee shop again.  
As there were currently no other customers Mitch was left alone with his thoughts again. He just wanted to know if Alex was okay and if he did anything wrong that had the Brit distance himself from Mitch. He couldn’t think of anything but that there wasn’t a chance that it wasn’t his fault. But what did he do wrong?

However, not even 200 kilometres away, Alex was lying on his bed, just staring up at the ceiling and regretting every choice he made in the past few weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I know I said there'd be only two chapters but I feel like I should divide the last chapter in multiple parts.

Alex had not been the same ever since he left Mitch without a word almost a year ago. There wasn't a single day where he didn't regret his decision to hide from his problems, but he didn't have a choice. However, Alex was going to try to apologise to Mitch today. In a few hours, he'd be back where he wanted to be the whole time since he ran away. The Brit stood in front of his car, ready to drive the three hours back to the city he felt at home for the first time. Before his doubts could stop him, Alex got into his car and started the engine. He would not back out of this, he had to apologise to the Kiwi. Even if they were never going to be friends again. Alex just had to do it. He switched the radio on to keep himself focused while driving. In a few hours, Alex should be at the coffee shop, and if he was lucky, it was Mitch's shift. Alex desperately hoped this was the case as he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do if Mitch wasn't at the coffee shop. Probably just wait for the other guy or come back later. Maybe, if he knew those who were working when he arrived, he would ask them about Mitch too, but just maybe. Alex sighed and concentrated on the road again. He tried not to worry too much about what was going to happen.

***

Mitch had come to the café in the early morning to pull a double shift before he was having a few weeks off to concentrate on his finals that were coming in university. So far, there hadn't been a lot of customers. Only a small group of students from one of the local high schools and maybe half a dozen couples had come in. He had been working for almost seven hours now, with a short lunch break where he sat down in the backroom with Jev. They had just talked about anything that came to their minds. The Frenchman was currently talking to James in his office, in the back of the café. Mitch would have preferred him to be alongside him at the counter though. The mindless chatter with Jev helped him to distract himself from continually thinking about Alex. The Kiwi groaned in chagrin as his thoughts immediately wandered back to the tall, dark-haired Brit as soon as he had nothing to do. For god's sake, it had almost been a year since he disappeared, so why would he show up again? Also, he didn't even say goodbye to Mitch or anyone in the coffee shop besides quitting his job. Still, Mitch wanted Alex to magically appear in the café or at his flat so that just maybe they could be friends again. The sound of the front door opening pulled him out of his thoughts as he looked at the customer that had just entered. In fact, it was two customers, a tanned dark-haired man, and a shorter, blonde man. They seemed to be bickering about some TV show. A smile crossed Mitch's face when he remembered that he had seen them here before, doing the exact same thing. Just when he was about to take their orders, Jev walked up to him.  
"James wants to talk to you in his office, I'll handle them."  
With that, he ushered Mitch through the back door. The Kiwi continued walking until he reached the office. He knocked on the door, and when James called him in, he went inside.  
"Jev said you wanted to talk to me?"  
"Yes, it won't take long. I just wanted to make sure that I got your free days right. My information is from the 23rd this month to the 14th of next month. Is that correct or did I mess something up?"  
Mitch thought about it for a short moment before nodding his head. "Yeah, that's correct. I will pull double shifts after my exams are over to make up for my free days."  
"Yeah, but don't overwork yourself. You'll have enough time to get that work time in. That was all from my side, is there anything you want to talk about?"  
James looked at Mitch questioningly, but the Kiwi shook his head.  
"No, that was all from my side. I'll go and help Jev then. If you need me again, just call me over."  
James averted his gaze from his computer screen to Mitch for a short moment before nodding. The Kiwi then left the room and went back to the main room of the café. He saw that the couple had left again, they probably ordered their drinks and food to go. Instead, there was now another guy sitting at one of the tables. Mitch didn't know who it was as he had turned his back towards the counter. Jev was currently talking to him but shot Mitch a curious glance when he heard him enter. Jev probably wanted to know what James had wanted from him, Mitch thought. He got his phone out of his pocket to check the time when Jev came back to the counter.  
"Can you get his order ready? I have something to get from the back room."  
Mitch just nodded and took the note with the guy's order from Jev's hand. The Frenchman disappeared through the door Mitch had walked through not long before while the latter started preparing the man's order. While the coffee machine was running, Mitch looked over to the customer. He somehow seemed familiar, but Mitch just couldn't think of anyone that looked like the guy. Well, apart from Alex but the Kiwi was seeing Alex in every tall guy with dark hair. But it couldn't be Alex, and he would probably never see him again.  
Not long after, the order was ready, and Mitch got the cappuccino and the sandwich on a tray. He was focused on not spilling anything that he didn't look at the customer until he was standing right in front of him. Mitch put the cappuccino and the sandwich down in front of the man. Then the Kiwi looked at his face for the first time. When he saw who it was, his heart stopped beating for a second before continuing again with twice the speed it had been beating at before. He swallowed hard before finally speaking up.  
"Alex… What are you doing here? Why are you here?"  
Alex didn't seem to do much better than Mitch did a few seconds ago, he visibly swallowed too before answering.  
"Mitch…", he whispered breathily, "I understand if you're mad at me and if you don't want to talk to me. But I wanted to say… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I disappeared without a word last year. I'm also sorry I never replied to your messages. I had a reason for running away, but I'd prefer to tell you about it in private. Although I totally get it if you never want to have anything to do with me again." The Brit had an apologetic and also somewhat pained look in his eyes while talking. Mitch expression turned from shocked to see Alex over bitter to finally obvious pain but also softness.  
"What do you mean you had a reason? And I'd be willing to listen to you, but I can't promise that I'll forgive you for what you did."  
"Thank you, Mitch. And I'm not asking for forgiveness, I just want you to understand me. When- ", Alex smiled softly at Mitch while talking but was interrupted by a group of students entering the coffee shop and Jev coming back into the main room. "Wait for me until my shift is over? After that, we can go somewhere else to talk." Mitch knew he had to get back to work, but he didn't want to leave Alex without having a plan for later. "Sounds good to me. I promise I won't leave again." The Kiwi didn't know what to reply to Alex, so he just smiled at him and went back to work.

***

A few hours later, Alex was standing next to the door of the Busy Bean with his coat on and waited for Mitch to have gathered his stuff so they could leave to talk. It didn't take long for Mitch to come outside. Like Alex, he was wearing a jacket. Even though the sun was shining, there was a cold wind blowing through the streets. "Hello again. So, where do you want to go? Do you want to go to my place? I would have suggested the park, but it's pretty cold, isn't it?" Mitch had his usual smile on his face, and Alex realised how much he missed seeing it. The tall man nodded in agreement. "Shall we walk, or would you prefer taking the car? It's parked just around the corner in the parking area." The Kiwi thought about it for a second before voicing his decision. "I don't want to freeze my ass off, so the car sounds way better than walking." He grinned embarrassed, and Alex huffed out a laugh. They started walking to the car, and neither knew what to talk about. When they arrived, there still wasn't a single word spoken between them since Mitch said that he wanted to take the car.  
"So… How are you? I probably should have asked you this sooner…" Alex awkwardly fumbled around with the keys before unlocking the car, avoiding looking at Mitch while talking to him. "I'm actually quite good. A bit stressed because I have some important exams coming up at university. But apart from that, I'm alright. Like, not great but also not bad if you get what I mean? How are you though?" Mitch's voice was strained, whether due to nervousness or awkwardness, Alex wasn't sure. They climbed into the car, and Alex started the engine. "Yeah, I'm alright too. Definitely understand what you mean with 'not great but not bad'. You're still living in the same place than last year?" He threw a glance at the man in his passenger seat while driving onto the road to see him nod. Not much conversation was made on the rest of the way, only occasional questions from Alex concerning the way or where he should park the car. Mitch didn't remember a time when he felt that awkward while being with Alex, and he wasn't one to quickly feel uncomfortable in situations like this. But yet here he was.  
Not long after, both men entered the apartment Mitch was living in. He told Alex where he could put his stuff so it wouldn't be in the way. The Brit did as he had been told and then waited for Mitch to return to the living room. It didn't take him long, so Alex wasn't feeling uncomfortable when he returned. "So, do you want anything to drink? If you want, you can sit down on the couch?" Nervously, Mitch kneaded his hands, and Alex shot him a comforting and warm smile before sitting down. "A glass of water would be nice, but only if it's no problem." The other man nodded with a polite smile before disappearing to the kitchen. Alex ran his hand through his hair while wondering how he should explain why he left a year ago. Alex thought he had thought it through, that he had planned out this situation beforehand, but now he couldn't remember anymore. From the kitchen, the sounds of Mitch getting two glasses from the cupboard and filling them with water got to Alex's ears. Seconds later, Mitch was with him on the couch, making sure to sit on the other end than where Alex was sitting. "You said you wanted to explain what happened a year ago that made you leave, so…?"  
Alex nodded and sighed. "Can you promise me that you will only listen and not interrupt me, please?" The Kiwi opposite him shrugged before agreeing that he would only listen to what Alex said.  
"Okay, so it's all a bit complicated. One day, while I was working in the coffee shop, I noticed a man watching me from outside. I had seen him before, he once asked me where you were while you had been at the backroom. Okay, asking is not exactly the right word. Anyway, I never told you about him because I didn't want you to worry. It wasn't long after you... broke up with your ex. Well, this man had been watching me for my entire shift, and when I left for university through the backdoor, he suddenly attacked me. He… He told me to stay away from you, that you would belong to him. He threatened bad things would happen to you if I wouldn't leave the city. So, I left, and to avoid you trying to stop me from going away, I didn't tell you, and after I left, I cut all ties. But once I was gone, I realised that I made a mistake, because I shouldn't have run away like that. Trust me, there wasn't a single day where I didn't regret leaving. After some time, I was sure that I wanted to come back here, so I was keeping an eye on job offers. And now, there finally is one, and I'm partially here for the job interview and partially to apologise to you. To conclude this: I'm sorry, I was an idiot."  
Mitch just stared at the Brit when he was done talking, not knowing what to say. It was clear to him that the man who threatened Alex was his ex-boyfriend, because who else would think of Mitch as his property? Mitch didn't realise he made a derogative snort. How could Mitch ever date that guy? However, the Kiwi realised the sad, disappointed and even kind of hurt look on the man opposite him and only then he realised what he did before. "I didn't mean to direct this to you. It was more of a reaction to my stupidity and naiveté. Look, I think you were an idiot too. But I accept your apology, you did what you think was best. But that doesn't mean you're forgiven, I honestly don't know if I will ever do that. But I would love to gain you back as a friend." Mitch smiled warmly at the Brit in front of him, who let out a relieved sigh. "I'd like that too. You don't know a place to stay for me, by any chance? That's admittedly something I should have thought about before coming here…"  
"You could stay here if you wanted to. I don't mind sleeping on the couch for a night or two. We could start being friends again right here and now. What do you say?" The Kiwi bit his lip nervously and shot Alex a quick glance. "If you really don't mind me staying here? I can stay in a hotel, I don't need to stay with you." Alex fidgeted around nervously. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I minded, would I?" Mitch paused for a second and smiled gently. "Do you remember that you told me almost the same when I started to live with you?" Alex smiled too before answering quietly. "Yes, I remember that I told you something like that. And thank you for letting me stay. But I'll take me couch, I'm not letting you sleep there. That's the least I can do." Mitch shrugged and grinned lopsidedly. "You're welcome. However, to make up for running away, I get to choose the film tonight, and you have to watch it with me, whatever it is. Although considering that my taste in films is excellent, it's not much of punishment. Actually, it might even be a reward because of that." Alex chuckled and shook his head before looking at Mitch. "Alright, I can live with that. I still need to grab my bag from my car. I think I should do that now, I'll be back soon." Mitch nodded and watched Alex get up from the sofa. "You can leave the door ajar, so you don't need to ring the doorbell. Downstairs there is a doorstop you can use so it won't fall shut." He hesitated for a second before continuing. "I'm glad you came back, Ace." The addressed man stopped in the doorway and looked back at the shorter man. "So am I, Mitch. I really am." He didn't comment on the nickname that Mitch started to use again, but secretly he was really touched and also honoured by Mitch wanting to be friends with him again. Alex didn't feel like he deserved it, but he would do everything to show Mitch that he would never let him down another time.  
Alex put his coat on and left Mitch's flat, but did indeed leave the door ajar. Once downstairs he opened the front door only to be greeted by drizzling rain. It was even colder than before, so Alex hurried to his car and got his small bag from the trunk. He closed it again and rushed back inside so that he wouldn't get too wet. Not long after he was back at Mitch's flat, where he found the Kiwi standing in the kitchen preparing some snacks for their film night. "Hey, I'm back. Where can I put my bag for now?" Mitch turned around to face the tall Brit. "You can just put it next to the door or next to the couch if you want to. Also, there is something I need to tell you. But that can wait, though." Alex looked questioningly at the man in front of him, but he had turned towards the counter again, so he hadn't seen it. He did what he had been told and put his bags next to the door. He returned to the kitchen again, just when Mitch was finished stacking up chips, chocolate, and other sweets along with bottles of various drinks on a small tray.  
"So… Let's start our film night?" Alex nodded and helped the shorter man to carry all their snacks into the living room. Once there, they put everything on top of the coffee table, and Mitch grabbed the remote for the TV.  
"You haven't mentioned yet what film we're going to watch," Alex asked curiously, but Mitch just gave him a mysterious smile and finished setting everything up. He then sat down enthusiastically on the couch next to the Brit and switched on the TV. Alex looked at the screen and was met with the opening sequence of –  
"Sharknado?! Seriously? I thought you said you were gonna choose something good." Alex groaned in frustration, but he had promised Mitch that he would watch whatever the Kiwi chose. However, he did not think it would be something like Sharknado. Although it was totally like Mitch to like those films. "It's not as bad as everyone says. And it was part of the deal that I could choose the film we watch…" Mitch sounded more sheepishly with every word that left his mouth, not even looking at Alex in the end.  
"I know. And I didn't mean to make it sound like I refused to watch it, and most definitely not that I was angry at you. Sorry I made it sound like that. Let's watch the film, alright?" Mitch nodded and seemed to relax again, but his shoulders were still strained. It made Alex feel bad, he didn't mean to scare the other man. A few minutes passed in which both of them focussed on the film. Occasionally, they glanced at each other when the other guy wasn't looking. Soon Mitch had relaxed entirely again, and Alex remembered what the Kiwi had told him when he came back from his car.  
"What did you want to tell me?" Alex quietly asked his friend. When Mitch didn't reply, he looked over at him to find a confused expression on the other guy's face. "You know, when I came back, and you were in the kitchen getting the snacks." Only then Mitch remembered what Alex was talking about and shrugged. "It's not that important. It's just that you could have come back sooner. My ex died like one and a half months after you left. He drove while he was drunk and had a car accident." He sounded unbothered by it all and Alex wondered what the other man really felt on the inside, but he didn't dare to ask.  
"I hope you don't expect me to express my condolences. That guy beat you up and threatened me, that didn't exactly engage my sympathy for him." Alex admitted quietly while looking at Mitch from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, not really. I'm not exactly sad about his death either. To be honest, I am kind of glad about it even though it sounds really harsh." Mitch went silent for a few seconds before continuing. "At least I can stop constantly worrying now, you know? I can go to the park, or go to the café or anywhere without the fear that he might show up. Honestly, I feel free for the first time in a while. It's a bizarre feeling, and I feel awful that his death has this effect on me, but I can't help it." Alex didn't know what Mitch was talking about but could imagine what it was like. But he didn't know what to say. A silence erupted between the two men again, the only sound that of the film playing in the background. They both turned towards the TV again and watched the rest of Sharknado without a word, only laughing together.  
When the credits rolled, it was early evening, and Mitch decided he had enough of the awkward silence between them. "Alex? Do you want to choose the next film? Or should we do something else? If you wanted to, we could make dinner together or play a game." He looked at the tall Brit to find him staring back at him. "How about we make dinner? I could use something to eat, other than those snacks I mean. And then after dinner, we can decide what we do next, right?" Mitch nodded and turned the TV off. After that, both men got up from the sofa and went into the kitchen where Mitch looked into his fridge to see what they could cook. "How about pasta with chicken and tomato sauce? I know it sounds like a rather weird combination, but it does taste delicious." Alex shrugged but then nodded. "Sure, if you can tell me what I'm supposed to do? And yes, it does sound like a weird combo, but I'll trust you in this." He smiled gently at Mitch, who had a playful grin on his face. "One might think you actually should have learned not to trust my taste from my film choice." Alex rolled his eyes but grinned too. "Very funny, Mitch, very funny. While Sharknado is a bad film, in my opinion, I still trust you. Also, I like pasta with tomato sauce, so I doubt I won't like it just because we add chicken. So, how can I help you?"  
With that, they made dinner, although most of it was Mitch's work because Alex didn't know what he should do. While cooking, they talked a lot about what had happened while Alex wasn't living in the city anymore. They also talked about Mitch's upcoming finals at university and Alex's job interview the next day. On the first impression, it was almost as if Alex had never left, but this thought was ever-present in both men's minds. They fooled around a lot, and after dinner decided to watch another film.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and sorry that it took me so long to post the second chapter. I hope it was not a complete catastrophe tho. Kudos & comments are appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

To come back and to apologise to Mitch had been the best decision Alex had ever made. During his absence, he had missed the Kiwi like crazy. Alex always blamed it on the fact that he had to leave a close friend behind, but since he came back, he wasn't so sure anymore. His opinion on Mitch hadn't changed one bit, but his feelings confused him more and more.

It had been almost three months now since he first came back and two months ago, Alex had moved into his new apartment. It wasn't too far away from Mitch's since it only took about 15 minutes to get from one apartment to the other. Besides the new friends Alex made at his job, he spent a lot of time with Mitch. Sometimes, when the Kiwi didn't have time because he had to work at the coffee shop, Alex would go there and talk to Mitch while he was at work. Mitch never minded it. He thought it was admirable how Alex wanted to be a good friend to him.

On quiet days, Mitch and Alex could talk to each other for almost an hour before a customer would walk in and Mitch had to work again. If Jev or André were at the coffee shop, they often joined the other two men's conversation. A few times, James even left his office to talk with Alex, too. It made Alex realise that the shop employees were almost like a family, and once you became a part of it, they wouldn't let you go without a fight. And Alex appreciated every second where they made him feel like he still belonged with them.

***

One Friday night, Alex was sitting in his apartment, going through some papers for work. Alex's mobile phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. Without looking at the caller ID, the Brit picked up the call.

"ALEX!" a drunk Mitch squealed through his phone's speaker, followed by some excited giggles. It made Alex laugh. He knew Mitch went out with some other friends from uni tonight. By the looks of it, Mitch had had one or two drinks too many.

"Mitch. What's up?", Alex answered with a grin on his face. In the background, Alex heard someone discussing something before the sounds of a scuffle before an unfamiliar voice answered the phone again.

"Err, sorry about this. Are you Alex, though", another man asked.

"Yes, I am. Why?" Alex heard a sigh before he heard a muffled "No, Mitch, you can't speak to Alex right now!"

Another sigh followed before Alex received an answer. "I'm Pascal, one of Mitch's friends. You probably figured by now that he's pretty drunk." The man, Pascal, paused for a moment. "Could you maybe come and pick him up? He shouldn't go home alone or be alone tonight, but none of us can do it", Pascal asked. Alex immediately nodded, but then realised Pascal couldn't see him.

"Sure, I'll pick him up. Where are you at?" Pascal quickly told him the name of the club they were in front of, and Alex promised to be there as fast as possible. The Brit hastily picked up his coat and car keys, not wanting to use public transport or walk home with Mitch. He also grabbed his apartment keys before exiting his flat to the garage of the apartment complex he was living at now.

A short drive later, Alex arrived in front of the club. At first, it took him a while to spot Mitch. Quite a few people were standing on the sidewalk in front of the club. Soon, Alex found his friend in the crowd, parking his car in the nearest parking lot.

He left his car, walking over to them. As soon as Mitch saw Alex, he ran towards him. Surprisingly, he didn't fall and seemed still able to walk in a straight line. When Mitch reached Alex, he started to babble away excitedly and didn't even realise that Alex couldn't keep up with his slurred speech. Mitch's friend walked over to the pair, one of them greeting Alex.

"Good thing you're here. We didn't want to bother you at first, but somebody has to keep an eye on him. By the way, I'm Pascal."

Alex smiled politely and shook his head. "You're not bothering me. I'm glad you guys are responsible and decided to ask somebody."

Looking at Pascal and the other guys, Antonio realised they were drunk, too, but they weren't as obvious about it as Mitch. A sudden weight on his arm told Alex that Mitch had attached himself to his side. He carefully wrestled his arm free, which instantly made Mitch pout. So the Kiwi was even clingier than usually when drunk, Alex thought. He didn't want to upset his friend, so he wrapped his freed arm around the shorter man. Mitch's pout immediately transformed into a happy grin, snuggling even closer.

Alex asked Pascal, "How much did Mitch drink?"

The black-haired man just shrugged. "We don't know. He was gone for a short while. He probably had a few shots in that time."

Now it was Alex who sighed before he thanked Mitch's friends again for calling him. "How are you guys getting home", Alex asked Pascal.

"Oh, most of us don't live too far from here so we'll walk. The others will take the bus", Pascal explained nonchalantly.

"Alright, it was nice to meet you. Mitch and I should leave now."

The friends said goodbye to each other, and Alex got Mitch to follow the former to his car. Remarkably and relievingly, Mitch sat down on the passenger seat without any troubles. Mitch might be clingy and hyperactive when drunk, but at least he didn't throw a tantrum. Alex buckled Mitch up and closed the door. Then he walked around the car to sit down in the driver's seat and repeated the same procedure for himself.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked Mitch before he started driving.

"Just very happy", Mitch replied. Mitch was still talking slurredly, but he had slowed down significantly, so Alex understood him much more easily now.

"Okay, tell me if you start to feel sick." Alex started the engine, driving carefully. Mitch nodded at Alex's request before leaning his head against the window, watching the lights of the city. After a few minutes in silence, Mitch began to tell Alex about his evening. He was gesticulating wildly while talking. A broad smile was on his face when the Kiwi spoke of the hilarious joke one of his friends cracked that the younger man couldn't even remember anymore. Mitch's enthusiasm made Alex smile as well, and he listened to his friend's stories while he was driving to Mitch's apartment. It didn't take too long to arrive, and Alex parked the car in the parking area around the corner.

Alex didn't know how Mitch and he made it to Mitch's apartment without any incidents, but they did it. Asking Mitch for his keys, Alex unlocked the apartment door and led Mitch inside.

"Come on, let's take off your shoes and your jacket. You don't need them while you're sleeping", Alex told Mitch. Another surprise followed when the shorter man did as the Brit had asked him without complaining once. Not even ten minutes later, Mitch was sitting on his bed with brushed teeth. He was wearing comfortable clothes, and only an occasional giggle left his mouth.

Alex had just returned from the kitchen with a big glass of water in his hands. Mitch drank it up in one go, and then placed it on the nightstand. He lay down in bed and pulled the blanket over his body. Alex made sure his friend was alright before turning around and leaving the bedroom.

"If you need anything or if you start feeling sick, call me over. I'll sleep on the sofa", Alex offered with a caring smile when he was standing in the doorway. He turned the bedroom lights off, but Mitch immediately objected.

"Wait!"

The Brit turned the lights back on, looking at his friend.

"There's something I wanted to do ever since you came to pick me up", Mitch mumbled while getting out of bed again. He walked over to Alex, standing very close to the taller man so that he had to look up at him.

"What did you-", Alex started to talk but was shut up by Mitch kissing him firmly mid-sentence. Alex yelped in surprise. He hadn't expected Mitch to kiss him, but his eyes fluttered close in pleasure when the initial shock wore off. He hadn't thought kissing Mitch would feel that good.

The shorter man was standing on his tiptoes to reach his lips, and Alex helpfully bent down a little. Mitch was tasting like toothpaste and the alcohol he had drunk at the club. When Mitch wrapped his arms around Alex's neck, the sober one of them suddenly came to his senses again.

"Mitch, stop, you don't know what you're doing. You'd regret it tomorrow if you could remember", Alex said breathlessly and gently pushed Mitch away from him. Mitch whined and went back to the bed again with hanging shoulders. He lay down, his back facing Alex now. The Brit sighed. He didn't want to hurt Mitch; Alex had tried to protect Mitch from doing something the Kiwi would regret the next morning. With a sigh, Alex turned the lights back off.

"Call for me if there's something wrong. Goodnight, Mitch", Alex said quietly. He waited for a few seconds for a reply, but he didn't get one.

Alex walked over to the couch, getting comfortable for the night there. He couldn't sleep. His mind went back to the kiss he had shared with Mitch. Kissing him had felt right, and Alex didn't want it to end. But he also didn't want to take advantage of a drunk friend. Pushing Mitch away had been the only responsible thing he could have done. Deciding to talk to Mitch about it in the morning, Alex fell into a light sleep.

As he expected, he woke up before Mitch. Since it was almost noon already, Alex ran some coffee for Mitch and decided to wake the Kiwi up. Walking into the bedroom, he found a funny sight. Somehow, Mitch had turned around in his sleep. Mitch's feet were resting on his pillow, and Mitch's head was lying where his feet used to be. He had the blanket wrapped around his body tightly, but his legs and arms spread over the whole bed, almost as if Mitch was a starfish. Alex chuckled, placing the cup of coffee on the nightstand next to the empty glass from the night before. The Brit started to shake Mitch's shoulder and said his name a few times. After a while, Mitch groaned.

"Why would you wake me up? I feel like death."

Grabbing the coffee mug as a peace offering, Alex said, "I made you coffee? And you have to get up at some point unless you want to be awake tonight."

The mention and smell of coffee seemed to lift Mitch's spirits considerably, as well as Mitch's head. Groaning, Mitch fought against the blanket around his body and sat up.

Smiling comfortingly, Alex gave the cup of coffee to Mitch. The Kiwi eagerly accepted the hot drink, instantly taking a few sips. Alex got up from the bed.

"I'll let you drink your coffee in peace, I'll wait for you in the kitchen", the Brit said quietly and left Mitch's bedroom again.

Once Alex was back in the kitchen, he made himself a cup of coffee, too. He had almost finished it when Mitch joined him in the kitchen, looking miserable but more awake. The shorter man had changed into a new pair of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. Alex wondered why Mitch would own something of this size since he hated oversized clothing. But then he realised that it was one of Alex's hoodies that he once forgot at Mitch's place.

"What embarrassing things did I do last night? I can't even remember why you're here. Not that I mind, I'm quite glad that I'm not alone."

It was at this that Alex understood that Mitch couldn't remember their kiss.

On the one hand, Alex was relieved that Mitch couldn't remember what he did the night before. It meant that Alex didn't have to hear how much Mitch regretted it. On the other hand, he was now in a difficult situation. Should Alex tell Mitch about it and then have to listen to Mitch apologising and maybe ruin their friendship again? Or should he say nothing, act like it didn't happen but risk losing Mitch as a friend in case Mitch started to remember?

"You should ask your friends, you didn't do anything embarrassing while I was around", Alex answered evasively.

"Yeah, I figured I need to ask them too." Mitch sighed in defeat before he continued talking. "Thanks for being here, Ace."

The addressed man shrugged his shoulders, smiling kindly. "I couldn't exactly say no when your friends asked me to pick you up, could I? You were drunk; it was only the right thing to do. I think something to eat would be quite helpful for your hangover, by the way."

Mitch smiled at Alex words. He was glad the Brit came back and was such a good friend.

"Just say you're hungry", Mitch laughed.

"Fine. I'm hungry. But seriously, you need to eat something, too", Alex laughed back and shook his head.

"I think I have some leftovers in the fridge you can eat? I don't trust myself to eat a whole meal. I'm going to stick to some toast", Mitch explained. Alex nodded with a comforting smile before he moved to the fridge. Mitch went to a cupboard and retrieved the toast, putting two pieces into the toaster. Alex attentively scanned the fridge before he found the leftovers Mitch had mentioned. The Brit took them out of the refrigerator and put them on a plate Mitch had set on the kitchen counter next to him. He put the plate in the microwave, waiting patiently until the timer ran out.

While waiting, Alex looked at Mitch thoughtfully. He didn't lie when he told Mitch he hadn't done anything embarrassing when Alex was around. The taller man didn't consider kissing his friend while drunk embarrassing. Still, he wondered whether if and how he should bring their kiss up without making it too little or too much of a deal. Yet again, he didn't say anything about it.

While they were eating lunch, Mitch suddenly asked, "Would you mind to stay here? I don't entirely trust myself or my hangover." Alex sighed.

"I would stay here, but I can't. I'm meeting a friend from work later, and I can't cancel that. I could come here on my way back to my apartment if you wanted me to check up on you later?", he explained thoughtfully. Mitch's shoulders dropped when Alex said he couldn't stay, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Yeah, I think it'd be better if you would stop by again later today", Mitch agreed sheepishly with Alex. Alex smiled kindly and set his fork down. "Okay, I'll stop by around 6 pm. Hopefully, you're not asleep then and can still open the door. I might need to break down the door if you don't open it. Otherwise, I'd be worried about you if you didn't open the door", Alex joked kindly. It caused Mitch to smile before the Kiwi had an idea and got up from the table.

"Take the key, if I don't open the door, you can unlock it instead of breaking it down", Mitch explained when the man came back into the kitchen. He offered Alex the keys to the door of the building and the door to his apartment. The trust Mitch had in Alex overwhelmed the latter, and Alex didn't know what to say.

"Thanks, Mitch", he whispered when he had found his voice again and accepted the keys. The Brit had finished eating. A look at the clock told him he should drive home soon. He was still wearing the clothes he wore the night before, and he should get ready for meeting his friend.

He waited until Mitch had finished eating, too, and then told the Kiwi that he had to leave. Alex grabbed his jacket, put his shoes on and added the keys Mitch gave him to his own. Mitch looked pretty lost standing in the small hallway, and Alex felt sorry that he had to go. Hugging Mitch to say goodbye, Alex felt even sadder. Mitch seemed reluctant to let go of him, but did unwrap his arms from Alex's torso when Alex promised, "I'm going to come back. See you later."

A little before 2 pm, Alex walked into the café to meet Antonio, his friend from work. Antonio, like many other people in this city, wasn't originally from England. But they all came here because of the international schools and university and stayed here. Antonio was from Portugal, but he had been living in the city for a few years now. They were working in the same division, and the two hit off well from the beginning on. Antonio was an extrovert. He had instantly started to include Alex in their team. Of course, Alex also got along with his other colleagues, but Antonio was the one he got along with the best.

Alex sat down at one of the tables, and Antonio entered the café not long after him.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I was still out with Robin. I hope you haven't been waiting for too long", Antonio greeted him friendly and enthusiastically. Alex shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. I've only been here for a few minutes. Who's Robin though?"

When Alex asked about Robin, Antonio tensed, and Alex wondered whether he shouldn't have asked that.

"Robin is my boyfriend", Antonio answered hesitantly after a few seconds. Smiling, Alex nodded slowly.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend", he mused. Alex didn't even know that Antonio wasn't straight either, but when exactly should he have asked that without sounding weird?

"We only got together recently", Antonio shrugged, relieved Alex didn't even blink an eye at the realisation that Antonio wasn't straight. They continued talking, sharing a few laughs and Alex was glad he met Antonio. He was a funny and friendly guy, and despite knowing each other for a short time only, Alex was sure that Antonio was a loyal friend.

"What about you, by the way? You know I have a boyfriend, are you in a relationship?", Antonio asked Alex at one point of their conversation. Alex hesitated, should he say something about Mitch? After all, he could use the advice Antonio might have for him. Taking a deep breath, Alex answered after a few seconds.

"No, I'm not in a relationship. But there is this friend I like, and well, it's a bit complicated, so to speak?" Antonio looked at him, questioningly.

"What happened between the two of you?", Antonio asked curiously. "Well, we used to be friends last year, but then something happened, and I left without a word. When I came back, I apologised, and we decided to try to be friends again. And it was going great, or it's still going great. I'd say that at least", Alex told his friend.

"Okay, and that's why it's complicated?" Alex was thankful Antonio didn't ask him why he left. He wasn't sure if he could tell him, as it included some very personal things that weren't concerning himself but Mitch. Surely the Kiwi didn't want Antonio to know. Mitch didn't even know who Antonio was.

"That's part of why it's complicated. But it got only more difficult last night." Alex sighed and paused. Antonio patiently waited for his friend to continue; he hoped he could help the Brit.

"Last night, Mitch - my friend - went out with some other friends of his. He got drunk, and his friends didn't want him to go home alone. So they called me to pick him up, which I did. It all went well until I almost got him to go to bed. He suddenly kissed me, and now he can't remember it anymore. I didn't have the heart to tell him when he woke up this morning. He had a massive hangover, so I didn't want him to feel guilty because he kissed me when he was drunk." Alex looked helpless when he finished talking like he didn't have the slightest clue what to do now.

"What did you do when he kissed you? Did you kiss back? More importantly, would you like to kiss him again?", Antonio asked Alex. Without second thinking, Alex replied, "Yeah. To both of your questions." Antonio broke into a wide smile at Alex's answer.

"I knew it!", the Portuguese man exclaimed enthusiastically. "So where exactly is your problem? Talk to him."

Alex sighed. "But I can't. I missed my chance to tell him about the kiss, and if I tell him now, Mitch will get mad at me." Antonio shook his head.

"Listen, I might not know your friend. But you don't just kiss anyone when you're drunk. There must be more behind him initiating that kiss", the Portuguese man replied. Alex didn't know what to think. What Antonio said seemed plausible. But he had also said that he didn't know Mitch.

"Maybe you can talk to a friend the two of you have in common? They know both of you then", Antonio interrupted the Brit's thoughts. A thoughtful smile appeared on Alex's face.

"That's a good idea. Thanks, man. I'm glad I could talk to you about it", Alex replied gratefully.

"You're welcome. I'm always glad when I can give someone a piece of advice. After all, I might need that person's advice, too", Antonio smiled warmly. He took a glance at his watch, paling in shock.

"I'm so sorry, but I need to go soon. I promised Robin that I would prepare dinner tonight for when he comes home from his lecture", the tanned man replied hastily. Now it was Alex's turn to smile sympathetically.

"Oh, don't worry about it. You can leave already if you want, I will pay this time and next time, you can pay", Alex offered to help Antonio leave faster. His friend thanked him gushily. They said their goodbyes to each other before Antonio left the café, waving to Alex. The Brit chuckled. He hadn't met Robin, but he must be a nice man if Antonio was so head over heels for him. Alex picked up the empty cups and plates from the table, bringing them over to the counter to pay. It was only 4.30 pm, so the tall man had still one and a half hours before he wanted to be at Mitch's place. That meant he had plenty of time to go to the Busy Bean in hope to find Jev there.

When he had left the café after paying for their orders, Alex started walking into the direction of his old workplace. On the way there, he thought a lot about Mitch and his feelings for the shorter man. He also thought about what Antonio had said.

Still lost in thought, Alex arrived at the Busy Bean. He could already see Jev standing behind the counter to his relief, preparing another customer's order. Alex pulled open the doors, entering the familiar shop. He got into the queue, waiting for his turn to order. He might have had more than enough coffee for today, but they also sold other things other than coffee.

When it was Alex's turn, Jev smiled broadly at him and greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hey, Alex. What can I get you?" The Frenchman was presumably his best option for advice, so Alex should probably take his chance.

"One hot chocolate and your advice in private, please", Alex said. When the Brit asked for his advice, Jev's interest was sparked. He started to prepare Alex's order.

"How much time do you have? My shift is over in 15 minutes, and then Oliver will take over", Jev explained to Alex curiously. Confused about who Oliver was, the Brit frowned.

"Yeah, I can wait for 15 minutes, but I'll wait outside for you. At the back entrance", Alex replied. He had decided it wasn't relevant right now who Oliver was; besides, it was probably only another barista that Alex didn't know. Jev nodded at him before giving the paper cup to Alex, and the latter left the coffee shop. He walked around the building, sitting down on a bench close to the back entrance of the coffee shop. After around five minutes, a man with dark blonde hair passed him, using the back door. That had probably been Oliver.

It didn't take Jev long to walk through the door after that, a backpack hanging from one shoulder.

"Alright, let's get straight to business. What do you want my advice for?" Alex appreciated it that Jev wasn't beating around the bush and instead came straight to the point.

"Hypothetically speaking, if I was friends with this person. And this person got drunk and kissed me. And now they can't remember it anymore, but I messed up talking to them about it. What would you advise me to do?"

For a second, Jev stared dumbfoundedly at Alex before he started to laugh.

"Oh my god, did Mitch kiss you when he was drunk? Because if he did, kiss him again now that he's sober", Jev said seriously.

"How did you know it was Mitch", Alex wanted to know, a blush on his cheeks.

"Easy, we don't have any other friend's in common who sometimes won't shut up about you."

Jev's statement left Alex confused. Did Mitch talk about him at work? Did he  _ plan  _ to kiss him but messed up because he was drunk?

"Alex, that man is madly in love with you, and you're too blind to see it. And please tell me you like him back, because otherwise I have to take Mitch's side and can't talk to you right now", Jev explained, looking at the Brit from the side.

"Why do you think he's in love with me?"

The Frenchman only stared at the man in front of him in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

Alex shrugged helplessly before nodding.

"Listen, I would explain it to you, but it's not my place to do it. Just talk to Mitch. Apologise for not saying anything about the kiss earlier. But tell him how you feel and why you didn't say anything before. He will forgive you, trust me", Jev said kindly. Alex only sighed and thanked Jev for his advice.

However, the man wasn't so sure if he could do it. He had messed up majorly before, and he had promised himself to be a better person. He didn't want to ask Mitch for forgiveness again, no matter if the Kiwi forgave him or not. After saying goodbye to his friend, their ways parted, Jev was going home and Alex started his path to Mitch's apartment.

Not long after, the Brit arrived at his destination. Not bothering to ring the doorbell, he used the key Mitch gave him earlier that day to open the door of the apartment building. Taking the elevator to Mitch's floor, Alex still didn't know what to say.

As if he was on autopilot, Alex walked to Mitch's apartment door when he was on the right floor and unlocked the door with the other key he got from Mitch. He heard the TV was on, but he didn't know if Mitch was awake or not, or if he was even in the living room.

"Mitch? I made it here early", Alex announced himself while taking off his shoes and jacket, neatly placing everything next to Mitch's stuff. Only now Alex noticed the water running in the bathroom. He walked over to the bathroom door, gently knocking on it.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm here", Alex said through the door before he walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch. He mentally continued preparing what he wanted to tell Mitch, using the additional time he got. But as soon as Mitch set a foot into the living room a few minutes later, Alex forgot everything he had wanted to say.

Mitch's hair was still wet, and he was wearing the same clothes as when Alex left the apartment this morning. To see Mitch dressed in his hoodie filled Alex with a sense of pride but also pure affection. Since Mitch was a lot shorter than him, it didn't fit him, so he had sweater paws, and the Kiwi had more or less snuggled into the soft material.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

That was the only thing Mitch said to Alex, staring at the taller man from across the room, the Kiwi's eyes shining with tears.

"I'm sorry", Alex gulped out after silently looking back at his friend for a few seconds. He was utterly taken aback by Mitch, everything he had planned to say didn't seem right anymore.

"I even asked you if I did something embarrassing, Alex, and you said nothing! You lied!", Mitch replied, his voice displaying the hurt and the anger he felt.

"I didn't think it was embarrassing to kiss your friend while your drunk", Alex whispered. Before Mitch ad the chance to say something in return, Alex continued, his voice firm. "You're right, though. I should have said something. It wasn't okay to hide it from you."

"Yeah, you can bet on that", Mitch hissed, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed in front of his chest. Alex got up from the sofa, putting the keys he got from Mitch onto the coffee table.

"I wanted to talk to you now, you know? I panicked this morning, and I know this isn't an excuse. I panicked because telling you what happened meant being confronted with both your feelings and mine. And I thought I wasn't ready to acknowledge my feelings", Alex explained, his head hanging low in defeat. Mitch sighed and tiredly rubbed his hands over his face.

"And now you are, or how am I supposed to understand this?"

"Yes, talking to someone made me realise that I already knew what my feelings were. I was and still am scared of what it means", the tall man replied, a spark of hope in his face now. Mitch hadn't sent him away yet, so that was probably a good sign.

"You know, I don't regret what I did last night", Mitch replied after a short silence, his face and body posture more open and relaxed now. Now it was Alex who teared up. He was once again astounded by how forgiving Mitch was towards him and how much the Kiwi trusted him. "Well, from the looks of it, you do."

Mitch's statement when he saw Alex's tears shocked him, the Kiwi had misunderstood him.

"No, I don't. I mean, I kind of do because our first kiss went like that and because of how I handled it. But I don't regret kissing you", Alex said confidently, and relieve washed over Mitch's face.

"So, hypothetically speaking, if I kissed you again now, would you kiss back and not push me away?"

"Why don't you find out yourself? I always found finding out things on my own more satisfying than just getting an answer." Alex's heart was beating twice as fast as it had before Mitch's question. He slowly walked over to Mitch, the Kiwi also walking closer to him. After a few steps, they met in the middle of Mitch's living room.

Letting out a shaky breath, Mitch got onto his tiptoes, and since Alex knew what would happen, he helpfully bent down. Both men's eyes fluttered close when their lips met in a soft kiss. It wasn't like the one they had shared the night before. It was more hesitant, sweeter, but also better now that they both knew what they were doing. This time it was Alex who took the lead and deepened the kiss. Mitch smiled at that and wrapped his arms around Alex's neck to pull him down further, his feet hurting from standing on his tiptoes for too long.

"You're right, finding it out on my own was more satisfying", Mitch panted when they broke apart to breathe. Alex grinned and winked at him, before once again capturing Mitch's lips with his own.

Over time, their kisses turned more and more heated, and at one point Mitch had almost jumped into Alex's arms. But just at that moment, Mitch's phone rang. Pulling away from the taller man, Mitch groaned in frustration.

"Sorry, bad timing", he mumbled out of breath, stepping away from Alex to pick up the call. The Brit just smiled gently, walking over to his old spot on the sofa to wait there for Mitch to finish talking on the phone. Not long after, Mitch hung up and put his phone on top of the coffee table.

"Before we continue what we did before our rude interruption, I need to know if we're on the same page, Ace", Mitch said shyly, a light blush on his cheeks that might come from their making out and not from what he had said.

"I really like you, Mitch. To be fair, I think I did so for some time already", Alex said honestly, looking straight into Mitch's eyes. The man in front of him teared up again, swallowing hard before he said anything.

"I really like you, too. Like, I like you a lot. I've liked you for what feels an eternity", Mitch admitted, walking over to the sofa and sitting down next to Alex.

"Sounds like we're on the same page here", the Brit whispered, his eyes drawn to Mitch's lips. When the man in front of him nodded almost unnotably, Alex leaned in again, placing a gentle kiss on the other man's lips.

"If I recall correctly, this isn't exactly where we left off", Mitch murmured into the kiss, a smile evident on his face.

"Oh, sorry, I think you should remind me again where we left off", Alex teased back, and Mitch didn't need to be told twice.

Later that night, Mitch was resting his head on top of Alex's chest when the taller man remembered the call Mitch had received earlier.

"It was James, Jev called in sick for his shift tomorrow so he asked me if I could jump in", Mitch explained when Alex asked him about the call. Nodding slowly, Alex tightened his arms around Mitch's torso.

"When is your shift? I can stop by if you want", Alex offered kindly. At that, Mitch sat up to look at Alex.

"You would do that?" He had a hopeful look in his eyes. It once again reminded Alex of how much he needed to cherish Mitch and show him he was genuine about him and their relationship.

"Of course, I don't have anything else to do tomorrow", Alex smiled, softly stroking his thumb over Mitch's cheek. His now boyfriend smiled too, leaning into the touch.

"I have to be there at noon, and will help to close the shop at 6 pm", Mitch explained, lying back down, one arm draped over Alex's body now.

"Alright, I'll try to be there in the afternoon. I just remembered that I do have something to do tomorrow", the Brit replied. Mitch smiled at that and decided once again that trusting Alex had been worth it.

They fell asleep in each other's arms that night, and both of them thought this was the best place to fall asleep and wake up.

It was close to 4 pm when Alex entered the coffee shop the next day. Preparing everything for dinner at his place later had taken longer than he had thought, but he had made it to the coffee shop in time.

He entered the shop and immediately was greeted by André, who was alone behind the counter.

"Hey man, great to see you again", the older man grinned when Alex was standing in front of the counter to order a coffee. The Brit smiled at his friend and former colleague.

"Hey, great to see you, too. Where's Mitch? I have to talk to him", Alex said after he had ordered a black coffee. It caused André to grin knowingly.

"I knew it! Did you finally figure out your feelings for each other? Please say yes", the barista said, moving to prepare his order. Blushing furiously, Alex nodded. It looked like their feelings had been evident to everyone but them. A gentle smile appeared on André's face now. "I'm sure you two will work out well."

"Thanks, I guess. But where is Mitch?"

André slid the cup of coffee over the counter before pointing at the back door. "We ran out of soy milk; he's getting some from the fridge in the back, but he should be back soon. I'll send him over to you if he doesn't come to you anyway."

Thanking his friend, Alex moved away from the counter to sit at one of the tables close to it. He got out some notes from work to go through them and soon was interrupted by two hands coming to rest on his shoulders. He hadn't noticed Mitch coming back, but he was glad he could talk to him now. Turning around to look at his boyfriend, Alex lowered the papers to smile at the other man.

"Hey, I hope it's okay I didn't come here earlier", Alex grinned. Mitch nodded enthusiastically and bent down to press a chaste kiss to Alex's lips.

"Of course. I'm still surprised you offered it", Mitch replied when he was standing upright again. Alex furrowed his brows.

"I can't see why I shouldn't offer it. Especially if I don't have anything else to do anymore", the Brit mused, caressing Mitch's hand that was still resting on his shoulder. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I hope you don't have anything planned for tonight."

"Actually, I do."

It immediately made Alex feel bad for not talking with Mitch beforehand, but then Mitch added with a wide grin, "If spending time with you counts." Alex laughed.

"It counts, but I guess we can combine your plans and mine", the taller man replied while shaking his head at his boyfriend's humour. The coffee shop's door opened, and two men entered the café. Alex recognised one of them, but he didn't know him.

"I have to go back to work. I'll come to your place after work", Mitch said apologetically before going back to his spot behind the counter when Alex had nodded at him with a smile.

When Alex had finished his coffee, Andrè came to collect his empty cup. Not wanting to leave yet, Alex ordered another drink. Not long after, Mitch brought his new cup to his table.

"Stop drawing shit love hearts in my coffee, Mitch!" Alex's exclamation was louder than he had anticipated, but nobody said anything. Mitch just chuckled while walking away.

"You got yourself into this by deciding to fall in love with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was it, the end of my first multi-chaptered fic. Massive thanks to everyone of the gc sprint squad and everyone who read this. Thank you to everyone who left a comment, they mean the world to me. It's been almost one year since I started to write this fic, and now it's finally done, over 17k later.


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